Hood to Coast 2006 - it's all about me!

Our story begins with my looking at a shiny silver medal commerating the 25th anniversary of the Hood to Coast relay race.

I had been so excited about this event! I've ran H2C many times in the past, on different teams, in both vans (2 vans of 6 runners each will run in relay fashion the 197 mile course). You can read more about the race here.

Thursday night before the race started I was reminiscing with my neighbor Ron about some of the H2C stories we had. We laughed at some of the bizarre and funny stories that we have both experienced over the years on separate teams. We even talked about setting up a blog where other people could recount the plethora of preposterous ponderings presented through the years. Surely, it would create a library of writings that would almost require using the Dewey Decimal System to catalog the many experiences.

The weather forecast was perfect - warm but not too hot, no rain (I did run one Hood to Coast where it rained!). My training was almost perfect - I always think, I could have trained harder - and I could have. But, I had trained harder than the last several years. I was not in violation of Rule Number One (never do anything on the race that you haven't done in training).

Last year, in an ubelievable instance of bad timing; I had a seizure on the eve of Hood to Coast 2005. It hit me like a bolt of lightning, where one moment I felt an overwhelming nauseous out of body experience and the next moment I was semi-conscious in an ambulance heading for a hospital. I have vague recollections of asking the paramedic, and then the ER doctor; if I could run Hood to Coast the next day. Alas, the answer came back that this year I would sit it out. What a disappointment!

But that was in the past - it's now on to the future! I got up Friday morning and began packing my gear. One of my teammates called me, he had some butterflies as being a first timer the race can be intimidating. We chatted for a little bit and then I returned to packing. Things began to get a little hazy - as the song goes, "hangin' at the 7-11, things are getting hazy, working on a Slurpee and then your pushin' up daisies". I started to feel ill and then there is an undertimed period of time where I had....a seizure!

One year to the day (literally within an hour), on Hood to Coast weekend - AGAIN! This one was like rolling thunder, where my brain began to get foggy and the ill feeling continued into a nauseous state. I remember taking a shower and leaning against the wall for support. I remember trying to continue packing and wondering if I was having a seizure. I remember laying down on the couch at one point because I felt so bad. I remember Ron's wife Lori calling and ascertaining by my mumbling, pseudo-coherent replies that my status was in a precarious state, then sending Ron over to check on me. I remember violently throwing up into the kitchen sink after an uncontrollable urge to vomit hit me.

I think I seized when I was laying on the couch, shortly after I got up I realized that I had gnawed a huge gash into my tongue. Later in the day I found an unexplained bruise on my bicep, I would subsequently find that the epicenter of the bruise was exactly the height of the corner of our dresser, apparently I had stumbled into it at one point.

I began to feel better and then thought that I could compete. I joined up with the team, still feeling a bit woozy but beginning to come out of it. I was scheduled to run about 6:00 PM and continued to feel better as the day went on. Sherry was beside herself though and in no uncertain terms communicated her resistance to my plans. Additionally, a doctor friend also said no way. Faced now with a personal and a professional opinion that I should not run, with great reluctance and sadness I decided to drop out of the race. I had a few tears, kicked a fence a few times and then got over myself. I did feel I could continue in the van to support the team, but it seemed prudent to remove myself. In case there were further medical issues I did not want to jeopardize the entire team's efforts.

A trip to the neurologist revealed that, in his opinion; there was no relationship from last year to this year, that it was just an aberration of timing. He said that had he been sufficiently assured that I was hydrated, he would have let me run. The incident again reminded me and reinforced the fact that I am an epilectic (I think I'm still in denial) and that my lifestyle must conform accordingly. He made a slight adjustment to my medication and pronounced me fine to get back into the racing saddle.

Hood to Coast 2007 - here I come!